Myntra acquires FITIQUETTE, aims to boost its Technology Platform

Last week’s biggest news from India’s Ecommerce Industry, which caught many off-guard was the acquisition of a San Fransico based FITIQUETTE by India’s premier fashion ecommerce platform, Myntra. This acquisition will strengthen and expand Myntra’s technology platform and drive transformational change in the online shopping space in India by providing world-class experience to its customers. This is Myntra’s second recent acquisition in the U.S. The first, in November 2012, was of New York-based Exclusively.in, which powers the private label vertical, Sher Singh.

About FITIQUETTE
FITIQUETTE is the first virtual dressing room of its kind globally, enabling online shoppers to virtually ‘try before they buy’, providing an online shopping experience which is very similar to the offline model. FITIQUETTE’s innovation generates a virtual mannequin based on various body types to which users can further adjust each specific measurement according to their body until it closely mirrors their own. What is unique about it is that the clothing we select is represented true to size based on a series of measurements. (Example. S, M, L, XL).

Myntra’s Plan with FITIQUETTE
Myntra plans to put San-Francisco-based FITIQUETTE, led by CEO/co-founder Andy Pandharikar, at the center of a new innovation lab in the city, which also will be led by Pandharikar. It will also use FITIQUETTE’s core product on its retail site to drive more fashion purchases online. For now, that retail site is only in India, where Myntra reportedly made some $100 million in revenue last year.

Gearing up for Competition
With the $1.5 trillion fashion industry still in its early stages of moving to the web – there is a growing need for technology that will help consumers make accurate virtual estimates of how something will look in real life. With this acquisition, Myntra will have the ability to provide a better virtual solution and a sense of personalization to the customer to solve a perceived barrier of shopping online – finding the right fit and size. Mukesh Bansal, CEO & Co-founder, Myntra said that this acquisition will not only help us improve the experience significantly, but will also enhance our technology team with addition of top tech talent.

Of late, the e-commerce industry has seen a series of acquisitions. Snapdeal got a $50 million infusion from Ebay, Flipkart acquired electronics retailer Letsbuy for $25 million, Bangalore-based online fashion retailer Zovi has acquired rival firm Inkfruit are some of the deals in the space.

Do you think Myntra’s recent acquisition will give them a heads up over its other competitors?